ContactOffice BlogCollaboration and Messaging Web Application Suite (www.contactoffice.com)2016-11-02T17:37:54Zhttp://blog.contactoffice.com/feed/atom/WordPresshttp://blog.contactoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/images-150x150.pngContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=9442016-11-02T17:37:54Z2016-11-02T17:37:54ZMillions of professionals use consumer cloud services in order to access files from any device and share them with colleagues, customers and partners. This has created huge productivity increases and allowed users to work...

]]>Millions of professionals use consumer cloud services in order to access files from any device and share them with colleagues, customers and partners. This has created huge productivity increases and allowed users to work from home or any place they like.

But all these cloud stored documents are starting to becoming a major concern for many CIO’s of companies. Customer information and trade secrets are just one click away from competitors access and often transit in a non secure way over the internet.

What are ContactOffice Groups

ContactOffice groups are secure shared work spaces accessible only to selected ContactOffice users. The access to such a group is on an invitation-only basis. The shared work space is present in the following ContactOffice tools: Calendar, Documents and Addressbook.

Once users are members of a group, they can only access the data that is shared by the administrator of the group. They cannot delete, add or modify data. However, the Administrator of the group can also assign access rights per tool and per folder to selected member of the group in order to allow them to add, modify or delete group data. He/she can also create co-administrators.

Groups are a great to share data in a secure way

ContactOffice groups are a great way to share documents in the cloud securely because the documents, calendars or contacts do not leave the servers via email or non-secure links. They remain stored on our server and do not need to be sent as attachment to a mail or as downloadable hyperlink. Users are notified by email whenever new documents are added in a shared work space. They can then view the data with their secure https connection. Administrators can at all time edit, comments or tag the documents and define specific access rights per document.

How to Share Documents in the Cloud Securely with one other user without sending an email

What happens when you want to share a document with only one other user? Most users send it as attachment of a mail or with a downloadable hyperlink service. This is very dangerous. ContactOffice offers you two secure options:

You can create a new group that would only contain this other user and yourself. However this might be an overkill if you only need to share this one document with this user.

This function allows you to send/deposit the document in the account of the other user, without it ever leaving our servers. And without infringing on the privacy of the other users. It is a bit like an Inbox for documents.

How does this “Drop Folder” function work?

Condition: Both users need to be member of the same Group

Go to the Documents tool

Do a ‘right click’ with your cursor on the document you want to share

Select: “Send” / “Send to a Drop Folder”

Select the group and group member you want to share the document with

The selected user will receive an email notification that will invite to check his/her “Drop Folder”

]]>0ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=9282016-10-18T13:11:27Z2016-10-18T13:11:27ZPlus addressing (or sub-addressing) allow you to use different versions of your email address. The great thing is that you do not need to do anything. They work right away. It’s a great way...

]]>Plus addressing (or sub-addressing) allow you to use different versions of your email address. The great thing is that you do not need to do anything. They work right away. It’s a great way to filter incoming messages or when you want to track whether your email address has been transmitted to third parties.

What is plus addressing or sub-addressing?

With plus addressing or sub-addressing you have access to an unlimited amount of email addresses. You just need to add a “+” sign in your email name, followed by a new word or tag. Here are some examples:

All emails sent to name+extraword@contactoffice.com will go to name@contactoffice.com

john+octobre2016@contactoffice.com will go to john@contactoffice.com

john+sales+mailing@contactoffice.com will go to john@contactoffice.com

etc….

Plus addressing to filter email?

Here is how you setup plus addressing to filter email. It is a great tool to automatically filter emails:

First go to the ‘Settings’.

There choose ‘Filters’ in the left Column

Click on ‘New’.

There you can configure that all mails sent to john+mailing@contactoffice.com will be moved to folder ‘Admin Support’ as is depicted in the screencapture below.

A very useful application of this filtering is for managing mailing lists and site registrations.

Tracking whether your email has been transmitted

If you are afraid that your email has been transmitted to a third party you can use plus addressing to track whenever you are required to enter your email on a site. If ever you get a spam to this address you’ll know that your email was transmitted.

When registering to a specific website register with following email: myname+namesite@contactoffice.com

Potential problems when using Plus Addressing

The form validation of certain web sites sometimes rejects special characters such as “+” in an email address. This is dangerous since the answer to your mail might be sent to the wrong person. A mail sent from john+mailing@contactoffice.com might result in mails being sent to johnmailing@contactoffice.com

]]>0ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=9152016-09-28T14:39:37Z2016-09-28T14:39:37ZShared mailboxes allow users to share their mailbox with other users in order to view and send email from a common mailbox. These accounts work in the same way as a normal email account...

]]>Shared mailboxes allow users to share their mailbox with other users in order to view and send email from a common mailbox. These accounts work in the same way as a normal email account but can be managed by several people. There is only one owner of the account.

Why using a shared mailbox?

A shared mailbox is ideal to organise info@ or support@ generic addresses that are managed by several people in an organisation

A shared mailbox allows you to delegate the management of your email to a personal assistant or colleague you trust

In case of email lists, a shared mailbox could allows you to store only one copy of mails as opposed to multiple copies

What are the features of a shared mailbox

A shared mailbox in a normal email account belonging to a user (account). This user allows another user (or users) to manage their email just as if it were their own email account.

The users that gets access to an account have total access to this account. All folders are accessible: Inbox, Sent, Trash, Templates,… Users that get access can even search in the other email account.

Concepts such as Send on Behalf of or Send AS do not exist.

We plan to release shortly a feature that will allow users to make a specific signature for the mailbox they get access to. This will allow them to inform the recipients of the emails that they send that the email was sent ‘on behalf of’, …. In order to do so, the shared mailbox will have to be added to the Personal Data of the account.

How to configure a shared mailbox

To configure a shared mailbox one needs to follow following steps

Go to Settings

Choose Messages / Access Rights in the left column

Select the user you want to give access to your mailbox

Prerequisites:

Both users need to be member of the same Group

The user that wants to give access to his/her mailbox, needs to have a paying subscription that allows this function.

]]>0ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=9062016-06-17T11:30:29Z2016-06-17T11:30:29ZBitcoins are taking over the crypto-currency marketplace and are one of the best ways to preserve one’s privacy. They’re now the largest and most well-known digital currency. As one of the leading private label...

]]>Bitcoins are taking over the crypto-currency marketplace and are one of the best ways to preserve one’s privacy. They’re now the largest and most well-known digital currency. As one of the leading private label email providers, we are happy to launch our support for bitcoin payments (in beta).

ContactOffice accepts bitcoins on different public sites

Users can use bitcoins for payment of premium plans on different public sites www.email.fr, www.mail.be, www.mailfence.com and www.contactoffice.com. In line with our philosophy of giving full control and ease of use to the user, we also offer to pay with credit card or Paypal.

How to pay with Bitcoin:

Interested in discovering one of our premium plans? Log into your account. Click on your name at the top right of the screen and click on ‘Subscriptions’. You’ll discover the different plans. Select the subscription of your choice and click on the Bitcoin icon at the bottom right. Click on Next and you’ll discover the following screen with bitcoin payment instructions.

]]>1ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=8862016-04-08T15:22:21Z2016-04-08T15:22:21ZWe are very pleased to announce the BETA launch of our end-to-end encrypted mail solution which is based on PGP. Our encryption solution is the result of more than two years work by our dedicated...

]]>We are very pleased to announce the BETA launch of our end-to-end encrypted mail solution which is based on PGP. Our encryption solution is the result of more than two years work by our dedicated team.

Why did we develop this service?

At ContactOffice we have always believed that users have an absolute and irrevocable right to Internet privacy. That is why we have never commercialized our user databases. During more than 15 years of business, users have always been spared advertising and have never been tracked or profiled. Following Snowden’s revelations in the summer of 2013, about massive government surveillance of Internet users, it became clear that users privacy on the Internet was seriously threatened. This was unacceptable to us.

First interoperable end-to-end encryption services that gives you full control

We understood that users need a service which is fully dedicated to email privacy. We double-checked every line of code, hardened our servers and worked relentlessly to find a SSL certificate which does not have a US company involved in the certification chain (not that easy to find).

We made it our mission to develop a user-friendly, highly trustable (based on open-source libraries) and completely interoperable encryption solution which anyone can use with other similar open-standard based solutions.

As a result, we have developed and launched the simplest, interoperable end-to-end encrypted mail solution on the market, which allows all users (not just techies) to reclaim their online privacy.

What features can you expect?

The mail encryption technology is seamlessly integrated into the collaborative messaging application. Through Mailfence, users can generate and manage their crypto keys online, send encrypted emails, digitally sign and decrypt emails, and much more. Our encryption technology is based on what is known as public-private key encryption and works on open standards such as OpenPGP (fully supported) and S/MIME (for signed incoming messages) in order to be interoperable with any other open standards based solution.

How does public-private key encryption work?

All codes are a bit like padlocks. You “lock” your message, the message travels to its destination, and then the recipient “unlocks” it and reads it. The basic idea is simple. Each user has two keys, one is called a ‘public key’ and the other a ‘private key’. Each “key” is actually a long string of alphanumeric characters rather than a real, metal key. You can share the ‘public key’ with anyone but the ‘private key’ remains secret. Lets suppose that you need to send a message to a friend using public key cryptography. You would use their ‘public key’ (the one they have shared with the world) to encrypt the message. Then you would email the scrambled message to them over the Internet. When they receive it they will use their ‘private key’ to decrypt (unscramble) and read it. In short, public-key cryptography means that anyone can encrypt a message and send it to you (using your ‘public key’), but only you can read it (using your ‘private key’).

We give you full control: the main features our end-to-end encryption solution

Generate and manage your crypto keys : you can generate your private key (protected by your passphrase) and a public key, both of which are mathematically connected to enable encryption. You can also import an already existing private key and perform tons of other operations related to key management, for example export your private key, generate a revocation certificate, revoke your private key, or delete your private key.

Digitally sign your email : you can digitally sign your email by using your private key which authenticates your identity to the recipient/s of your mail, for either professional or personal purposes. The compatibility of Mailfence with other applications is enhanced by the fact that it also supports S/MIME (for signed incoming messages) and the OpenPGP (for both incoming and outgoing signed messages).

Digitally sign and encrypt your email :this is a unique feature. Our end-to-end encryption solution enables you to prove your identity AND to protect the confidentiality of your email. You control the privacy of all your mail communications. In addition, all your attachments will also be encrypted, so both your message and your attached documents are protected. Of course, you are also able to decrypt all encrypted emails sent to you and send any encrypted mail to multiple recipients as well.

How do I get it?
If you agree with us that ‘PRIVACY IS A RIGHT AND NOT A FEATURE’, sign up for an account on one of our daughter sites such as Mail.be or Mailfence.
Would you like to implement this technology in your own private label version? Contact our commercial department for more information.

We would love to get feedback from you! Let us know of any suggestions/wishes/problems that you might have in order to help us make the simplest encrypted mail solution even better.Drop us a mail at: support at contactoffice dot com or send a tweet to @contactoffice

]]>0ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=8802016-02-24T10:35:21Z2016-02-24T10:35:21ZContactOffice releases two factor authentication ContactOffice released the possibility to activate two factor authentication to its private label customers. This additional layer of authentication security answers the needs of several of our private label...

ContactOffice released the possibility to activate two factor authentication to its private label customers. This additional layer of authentication security answers the needs of several of our private label customers that attach a lot of importance to security and encryption such as the OBFG (Order of French and German speaking Belgian lawyers).

What is two factor authentication :

The two factor authentication (aka 2FA) is a technology that provides a stronger security/identification of users by means of the combination of two different components : something that the user knows (username and password) and something that the user possesses (a Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) for mobile app. See below).

To use the two-factor authentication method, you will need to install a Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) application on your smartphone. This app generates a code that changes after a certain period of time.

In case you want to test two factor authentication go to mailfence (powered by ContactOffice) where the functionality is released

]]>0ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=8522015-12-03T13:43:18Z2015-12-03T13:43:18Z The NGROD (Flemish Regional Council of the Belgian Board of Veterinarians) representing Flemish vets has chosen ContactOffice as its collaborative messaging service. Some 3,400 vets will, henceforth, be given an emailaddress ending with...

The NGROD (Flemish Regional Council of the Belgian Board of Veterinarians) representing Flemish vets has chosen ContactOffice as its collaborative messaging service.

Some 3,400 vets will, henceforth, be given an emailaddress ending with the @dierenartsen.be domainname and be able to use it for all their communication and mobility needs : electronic mail service, document sharing, calendar, contacts and synchronisation of data between Web and mobile.

“After examining numerous solutions available on the market, we felt that ContactOffice fulfilled our expectations best,” explains Prof. Dr. Sarne De Vliegher, chairman of the NGROD. “We considered the messaging service offered by ContactOffice to be modern and user-friendly while, at the same time, offering sufficient flexibility for a deep integration with the new Axi Case Management 3.0 we are setting up together with AXI.”

“By winning this new client, we confirm the interest of our solution for trade associations, that want to have an efficient tool to collaborate and share data with their members.” says Patrick De Schutter. “ContactOffice allows them to setup groups to share information and offers a handy mailsolution branded in the name of the association. This is exactly why so many trade associations find a good fit with ContactOffice. We are extremely happy to have developped this integration with Axi Case Management 3.0. An integration that will be of interest for other customers.”

]]>0ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=8372015-10-21T07:29:37Z2015-10-21T07:29:37ZDear user, Our goal at ContactOffice is to provide the best tools to communicate and collaborate efficiently with your colleagues and friends. This is a very strong engagement that we really care about. On...

Our goal at ContactOffice is to provide the best tools to communicate and collaborate efficiently with your colleagues and friends. This is a very strong engagement that we really care about.

On 15th October, we encountered a technical issue that made it difficult to deliver the satisfaction you expect and deserve. The problem was identified in the morning and solved in the subsequent hours. In the process, some of our users received emails that they had already received or sent the previous day. These emails reappeared in their Inbox. The problem did not generate any security issue and no mail data of users was lost.

Please do accept our apologies for this technical problem. It is the first issue of this kind we encounter in the 15 years we operate the service. We understand the importance of our service and how frustrating it might be to encounter such issues.

As always, we welcome your feedback and are grateful for your patience, understanding and support. We’ll keep on trying to improve our procedures to deliver the satisfaction and service you deserve.

]]>2ContactOffice Teamhttps://www.contactoffice.com/http://blog.contactoffice.com/?p=8332015-05-09T05:49:54Z2015-05-09T05:49:54ZThe Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées will soon be extending the collaborative e-mail system ContactOffice to all of its establishments constituting the COMUE University of Toulouse. Thanks to the expansion of the collaboration with...

]]>The Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées will soon be extending the collaborative e-mail system ContactOffice to all of its establishments constituting the COMUE University of Toulouse. Thanks to the expansion of the collaboration with this client, ContactOffice has now surpassed the level of 600,000 paying accounts using its solution.

ContactOffice will provide the latest version of its platform to some 90,000 new users, who will thus be able to use its services of e-mail, address book, calendar, storage space, etc. Ultimately, over 120,000 members of the Midi-Pyrénées university community will be working and communicating in this environment. ContactOffice will also assume responsibility for migrating the e-mail servers belonging to the establishments that wish to adopt this solution.

The contract covers:

– Installation of the latest ContactOffice software version on a new cloud architecture of the Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

– Migration of existing accounts to the new architecture

– Acquisition of the ContactOffice licences

– Migration of the e-mail servers of establishments wishing to join the solution

– Infomanagement of the solution

The Community of University and Establishments (COMUE) Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées is a Public Establishment of Scientific and Technical Cooperation that presently includes:

6 founding members:

the University of Toulouse I

the University of Toulouse II

the University of Toulouse III

the National Polytechnical Institute of Toulouse

the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Toulouse

the Higher Institute of Space and Aeronautics

11 associate members:

the Political Studies Institute of Toulouse

the National Engineering School of Tarbes

the National Veterinary School of Toulouse

the Jean-François Champollion University Centre

the Mining School of Albi Carmaux

the Toulouse Business School

the National School of Agricultural and Life Sciences

the National Higher School of Architecture of Toulouse

the National Civil Aviation School

the Engineering School of Purpan

the Catholic Institute of Arts and Crafts of Toulouse

Research bodies:

the National Centre of Scientific Research

the National Institute for Agricultural Research

the National Institute of Health and Medical Research

the Development Research Institute

the National Aerospace Research Centre

The University of Toulouse has around 94,000 students and a staff of 12,900.